Public Speaker, New Media Expert, Thanet's leading independent journalist, SEO, Web Developer and business to Internet interface expert. Also a father, a geek, a blogger and friendly face. An Agent of Change.

Archives

North Thanet`s MP, Roger Gale, has described as "no April Fool's joke" a Home Office answer to a parliamentary question that indicates that Open Prisons are, effectively, "walk-free" establishments.

Even though you will fant scant (if any) coverage of these facts in the media the figures come from an answer to a written question to the Secretary of State from North Thanet MP Roger Gale (Conservative).

The MP requested details of the number of convicts that have absconded from Kent 's Open Prison, Standford Hill on the Isle of Sheppey.

The answer was that 606 have walked away since 1995 and there is no way of knowing how many are still walking free. Since the begining of April 2006 a total of 32 prisoners have absconded.

The only way to find out if these criminals have been returned at all would be to examine the records of all the prisons. Something the Home Office says it can not offord to do.

However on Friday 30th March 2007 thisishertfordshire.co.uk reported that "A man found dead next to the body of his partner was an absconded prisoner, police have confirmed." and that police had said that Mark Anthony Williams, 37, "had absconded from Standford Hill prison, in Sheerness, Kent, on December 13 last year."

As for the prisinors that ran off from Standford Hill prior to April 1995 there simply are no records available to draw meaningfull data. So in effect these criminals have escaped without fear of recapture.

According to a press release from MP, Roger Gale's office: A Home Office spokesman is quoted as saying that "The nature of open prisons means that we cannot guarantee that prisoners won't abscond"

"If convicted criminals are not going to serve their sentences as ordered by the court then there seems small point in arresting and sentencing them in the first place!" quips Gale.

Without a system for collating recapture data he may well be right as so the Home Office do not know how many absentees have been returned to complete sentences if indeed any have.

The third part of the written question was "how many prisoners, returned to HMP Standford Hill having absconded, were dealt with under prison disciplinary procedures in each year since 1987."

The answer seems to be "...um we don't know."

"The prison service is currently developing a mechanism for collating recapture data. At the moment the only way of providing this information is for every prison to interrogate records... This could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost." Said Gerry Sutcliffe the Parliamentary Under-Secretary.

The question that people will be asking now is how many other prisons have a similar rate of escape?

Of course that would mean reading this site or thinking "no I shall not".

...Matt, sorry to bother you mate but what in the name of the holy pink wat-not are you talking about?

this search result placed me at number 7 for the search term "Christians should not listen to" (for this and I thought it might be "rad" to be listed number one for that term. First out of 886 things that Christians should not be letting their poor ears listen too.

886 and I come 7. Not bad but I think I can do better.

So I would like lots of links to my site (or this post) useing the "key word" of "Christians should not listen to Lord Matt". The big challenge is going to be finding some context to use that in but that's the fun right.